Long road to gender equality
When Sharon Warburton once applied for an executive job with a manufacturer she was asked if she had a "reputable" man in her life for clients to talk to at work dinners.
She was ultimately offered the job but declined.
This was one of a number of anecdotes the Brookfield Multiplex executive and Fortescue Metals Group director regaled an AmCham Women In Leadership breakfast with yesterday.
Of the 180 attendees, the 20 or so men, including Fortescue Metals chief Nev Power, may have been left squirming on hearing her quote former colleagues as saying, "Why is there a woman here", and, "Do we have to listen to her".
"For me, success was the best revenge," Ms Warburton told WestBusiness.
"You really didn't have an outlet or a support function in those days."
She listed such initiatives as equal pay, removal of bias during recruitment and use of mentoring programs as helping combat sexism in male-dominated industries such as construction and mining.
"(But) the industry has a long way to go to get to the position where women are appropriately supported and encouraged," she said, adding many men now appreciated hearing a different perspective.
